Saturday, 14 April 2012

Week 11-14 stats

Weight = 14st 9lb (no change)
BF = 26.% (previous 26.1%)
Waist = 42 inches (previous 42.5)
Chest = 42.5 inches (previous 43)

Sunday, 18 March 2012

Week 10 comments

I have had a pretty rubbish training 3 weeks, I have had to work in different work locations, meaning my cycling has taken a big hit, and have also had a cold on one week and then complete loss of energy the next!
A few highs though, on the 10th March, I achieved my first 10km run in 1hr 2 mins and felt really good, although I hurt for the next 2 days
On the 11th, I had my final fit for 2012 health and fitness assessment, which included a 2.12km cycle on an exercise bike as fast as I can, my time was 2mins 42 secs, and as of Thursday, I was the best time in my company, will wait until official results come out for final scores though :o).

I had been itching to get back on the bike, so yesterday, I took Sarah on the hardest 34 mile cycle that I do, going up towards Meon Valley and climbing Exton Hill up to Winchester Hill, was a great ride and she was amazing, head down and legs pumping! I felt good as it had been several months since I attempted it, and last year it used to kill me, yet I found it relatively easy going at a more moderate pace. I did the same route again today with Adam, and although more tiring going at a faster pace, still managed it with relative ease!

The route is 33.5 miles long and has a total climb of 1955 feet!

Almost forgot,  I AM IN THE 14 STONES!!!!!!! Such a superb feeling, I have had to bin 2/3rds of my wardrobe as my clothes no longer fit!

Week 10 stats

Weight = 14st 9lb (previous week 14st 12lb)
BF = 26.1% (previous week 26.3%)
Waist = 42.5 inches (no change)
Chest = 43 inches (no change)

Cycled = 52.64 miles
Run = none
Swim = 2120 metres - 70 minutes

On the 1st Jan 2010 I was 19.7 stone, 
On 1st Jan 2012 I was 17.1 stone.
Todays Weight 14.9 stone

Saturday, 10 March 2012

Week 9 stats

Weight = 14.12 lb (previous week 15 st 4 lb)
BF = 26.3% (previous week 28%)
Waist = 42.5 inches (43 inches)
Chest = 43 inches (44 inches)

Cycled = 51.87 miles
Run = 15km
Swim = 2442 metres - 90 minutes

On the 1st Jan 2010 I was 19.7 stone, 
On 1st Jan 2012 I was 17.1 stone.
Today I am 14.12 stone. I have now lost 24% of my body weight and still going :o)

Saturday, 3 March 2012

Week 8 stats

Weight = 15.4 lb (previous week 15 st 7 lb)
BF = 28.% (previous week 28.1%)
Waist = 42.5 inches (43 inches)
Chest = 43 inches (44 inches)

Cycled = 64 miles
Run = 13km
Swim = 1780 metres - 65 minutes

Monday, 27 February 2012

Week 7 Comments

I had an excellent week, I went away on Holiday to Selsey with Sarah and her family as it was her mum's birthday, and even though I have put on weight due to Champagne and Sausages I managed to run, swim and cycle with Sarah and her Dad and Mum joining us on the cycles. It was also my first week being able to do any training after my bike accident!

Selsey is a nice place, and is completely flat, over our 25 mile cycle route which we did a couple of times I think the total elevation was about 40ft. I have never experienced this before, and as I was taking it a lot easier than normal managed to do some runs straight after, as well as running to the swimming pool (3.4km), swimming and then running back to the house for breakfast.

I also ran my furthest distance of 8km, and felt pretty good afterwards, so all in all I am happy with what I achieved, I know just have to work extra hard this week to shift the extra 4lb's!

Saturday, 25 February 2012

Week 7 stats

Weight = 15.7 lb (previous week 15 st 3.7 lb)
BF = 28.1% (previous week 27.4%)
Waist = 43 inches (no change)
Chest = 44 inches (no change)

Cycled = 71.72 miles
Run = 18.5km
Swim = 1750 metres - 65 minutes

Tuesday, 21 February 2012

Week 6 comments

another pretty quiet week on the Cycling and running side of things as my knee was still quite swollen and sore, i went to the Dr's and they advised I had swollen my knee.

As a result of this I concentrated on swimming and feel like I have broken through a barrier, achieving 60 laps in 30 minutes on two consecutive occasions, a huge improvement!

I am hoping my knee will be better for my holiday as I want to run, cycle and swim as much as possible!

Friday, 17 February 2012

Week 6 stats

Weight = 15 st 3.7 lb (previous week 15st 8 lb)
BF = 27.4% (previous week 28.1%)
Waist = 43 inches (no change)
Chest = 44 inches (no change)

Cycled = 15 miles
Run = None
Swim = 4840 metres - 90 minutes

Sunday, 12 February 2012

Week 5 comments

knee injury
Its been a pretty crap week, waking up on Tuesday I realised it wasn't just my knee that was damaged, but by leg, back, shoulders and neck! I didn't do any training until Thursday as I didn't want to risk my injuries getting worse, so kept it to swimming.

My technique has greatly improved and managed a personal best of 60 laps, 1320m with only slight knee discomfort.

Not training properly was a hard mindset with eating healthy, and had a few slips, but I am happy with 1 pound loss this week. My knee is still tender and stiffens up when not in use, so will give it another day before getting back on the bike, hopefully it will be recovered enough for some light cycling. The plan is to take it easy this week until I go on Holiday on Saturday, then if all is well concentrate on cycling and running over the holiday week and then weather permitting start introducing my 78 mile work commutes in March!

Week 5 stats

Weight = 15 st 8 lb (previous week 15st 9 lb)
BF = 28.1% (previous week 28.6%)
Waist = 43 inches (previous week 44 inches)
Chest = 44 inches (no change)

Cycled = 22 miles
Run = 5 km
Swim = 2684 metres - 95 minutes

Monday, 6 February 2012

monday mishap

The week started off really well, with a 5km run at the gym followed by swimming for 20 minutes, was pretty tired afterwords but woke up this morning feeling good and set off for Winchester on  my commute. The roads were great even after the weekends weather but reaching a stretch called five bridges road it was sheet ice and came off quite badly! The fall happened as if in slow motion with my right leg twisting up and to the side, and I thought at one point something was going to snap, but luckily managed to twist slightly and ease the pressure. Was lying on my back on the ice for about 10 minutes while feeling dizzy, and wanting to be sick, but managed to get back on my feet and cycle the 2 miles to the station.

My knee has swollen up and is very tender, but managed a relaxing swim this evening at the gym followed by a Jacuzzi, so lets see if that helps!

I finally had my Ride Accross Britain registration set up and have recieved my first training plan for February....... oh boy they expect a lot of cycling, sample below:-


I need to figure out how I can achieve this (maybe not while my knee is healing). Monday to Friday I can do with my commutes to work, but 4-5 hours on both Saturday and Sunday is a lot of Family time, so I need to work out whether two 2hr 20min rides in a day is the equivalent to one 4 hour ride, that way I can use my commute and cycle to and from Work.

Saturday, 4 February 2012

Week 4 comments

Another good result this week with weight losing 3 pounds!

Cycling was reduced due to my road bike breaking and being in the shop for repairs, but took the mountain bike out and did some cycling, hopefully get it back Monday night and can get the miles back up.

Feeling tired today, went swimming this morning and then did an unexpected 26 miles with Sarah on the mountain bike as her parents  came down a day early due to the forecasted snow, was a slog up the hills on the bike with the gears playing up but felt pretty good training wise!

Week 4 stats

Weight = 15 st 9 lb (previous week 15st 12 lb)
BF = 28.6% (previous week 28.8%)
Waist = 44 inches (previous week 44.5 inches)
Chest = 44 inches (previous week 45 inches)

Cycled = 64 miles
Run = 1.5 km
Swim = 90 minutes

Thursday, 2 February 2012

mid week ramble

It has been a bit of a weird week so far, started of great going for a run with Sarah in Cardiff on Sunday morning, then due to the cold weather I decided to stick to my 15 mile commute on the Monday. I noticed something seemed to be wrong with my bike, and it got so bad cycling to work in the Morning I had to get Sarah to pick me up so I could get home!

Turns out I need a new Bottom bracket and am hoping to get it fixed by the weekend. As a result of this I took Beastie (converted Mountain bike) out on Tuesday. Temperature was about -1 degrees and wasn't pleasant.

I had the second part of my yearly medical today and the doctor was shocked and impressed with the 8kg difference in weight since the first part in December and also how my diet has changed!

Sunday, 29 January 2012

Week 3 comments

Another awesome week, food consumption has been great, even with a weekend to Cardiff and an outing to Harvester! I would usually have a starter, combo main and pudding, about 2000 calories, yet I had a salad bowl to start, plain chicken breast for main and a treat of chips, total of 800 calories..... big result!

Swimming has come along in leaps and bounds and have entered the fast lane when swimming, averaging about 40 laps in half an hour (about 900 - 1000 metres).

Gratuitous hill shot
Sarah disappearing up the hill


















Went for a cycle with Sarah in Cardiff, my gods do they grow hills, had to keep apologising to Sarah when the 15 mile route turned into a hard cycle of Caerphilly mountains! Will probably be a while before she trusts me again!

Running wasn't great this week, mainly due to the cycle mileage but also due to my trip to Cardiff, will hopefully increase this week.

Week 3 stats

Weight = 15 st 12 lb (previous week 16 st 2 lb)
BF = 28.8% (previous week 29.5%)
Waist = 44.5 inches (previous week 45 inches)
Chest = 45 inches (previous week 46 inches)

Cycled = 130 miles
Run = 2 km
Swim = 90 minutes

Saturday, 21 January 2012

Week 2 comments

I have had a great week training, I didn't do any where near the normal amount of miles cycling as decided to take an easy week doing the shortest commute to work, but have had some great successes!

Through my work I have joined Hampshire health club, that has full facilities including an indoor and out door swimming pool, and after practising swimming, last night I finally made a break through and actually got my breathing sorted, I am 80% towards swimming freestyle correctly.

I also went for a 5km run today and found it quite easy, keeping a steady pace while the kids and Sarah joined me, with the kids on there bike and Lochlan becoming my pacer :o)

Lastly, and most importantly, I have reached my first weight loss goal of 16 stone 2 pounds, which is officially my lightest weight since I went past it 13 or so years ago!

Next week I plan to up my cycling commuting as well as continue to improve on my swimming!

Week 2 stats

Weight = 16 st 2 lb (previous week 16 st 8 lb)
BF = 29.5% (previous week 30%)
Waist = 45 inches (no change)
Chest = 46 inches (no change)

Cycled = 53 miles - (really poor amount this week)
Run = 7.5 km
Swim = 90 minutes

Tuesday, 17 January 2012

I GOT A PLACE! Ride Across Britain 2012

I have recieved some amazing news today, I have managed to get a place on the Ride Accross Britain in September - http://www.rideacrossbritain.com/

I am one of three people who will be doing it on behalf of Visa and I am currently a big bundle of excitement and nerves, as its a bug deal, over 100 miles a day for 9 days, for me its taking cycling to the extreme!

I will seriously need to look at a training plan for what will be required to achieve this, but my first thoughts are not to stop training for a Triathlon, as Running and swimming will only add to my cycling endurance and fitness, it will all depend on time, as I dont want this to take too much of my family time away!

2nd Swim success

After watching Youtube, listening to advice given by friends I went to the pool for the 2nd time, HUGE success. I swam for roughly 40 minutes and had no issues with cramp, muscle fatigue or cardio. I went with a friend who I cycle with and he gave me some pointers which greatly improved technique, and after doing some more research online have confirmed that my main issue is breathing. When I actually did it right, my hole motion changed and I started to speed up.

I found a fantastic site http://www.swimsmooth.com/exhalation.html which detailed my exact problem

"The trick is to get used to exhaling into the water and feel relaxed doing it. This sounds easy but you need to break the existing habit, which can take some persistence."

 I am extremely happy that my issue is quite common and should go away with practice, so plan to go again Friday and practice, practice, practice!

Saturday, 14 January 2012

week 1 comments

The week started out really well, with me cycling, running and swimming, unfortunately I caught a cold and decided to restrict myself to just cycling on Thursday and Friday.

Happy with results so far, over 3lb weight loss and 0.5% reduction in Body fat, looking forward to a full week of training and getting back in the swimming pool to see if I can correct my mistakes.

Have eaten really well the last week, not eating any cakes in work or any treats at home, instead sticking to fruit and low fat products..... hopefully will be recovered by tomorrow and can see if I can drop another 3lbs next week!

Week 1 stats

Weight = 16 st 8 lb (Weight on the 01/01/2012 17 st 1 lb)
BF = 30%
Waist = 45 inches
Chest = 46 inches

Cycled = 96 miles
Run = 2.5 km
Swim = 30 minutes

Wednesday, 11 January 2012

First Swim

Cycled 15 miles on my work commute today and then a further 5 to and from the swimming pool!

Today was D-day for swimming, I think its been about 5 years since I swam laps in a pool. I have been quite nervous about going, I have never been a strong swimmer and have never had a proper front crawl technique, so I new this would be my week point from the get go.

I decided to play it safe and stay in the slow lane for my first outing, and what can I say, I thrashed my legs, I inhaled water and I spluttered my way through 1 kilometre of swimming in 30 minutes, not feeling to happy about it but have watched a number of Youtube videos to see where I am going wrong, and initial thoughts are that I am not kicking from the hips and that I am lifting my head to far out of the water when trying to breathe! I plan on going again Friday and depending on the outcome will depend on whether I find someone to give me proper swimming lessons.

On a positive note, Since Saturday I have not eaten any crap, have turned down Sausage sandwiched, home made cup cakes (this was hard), Yorkshire puddings and the cakes and sweets people keep bringing into the office to share..... very proud, The scales show the weight dropping, but not logging anything until my official weekly weigh in!

Monday, 9 January 2012

feeling good

Cycled 15 miles today on my commute, and as soon as I got in I put the running kit on and went out for 2.5km's at the track, run 2 laps and walk 1 lap.

Have also had a great 3 days food wise and turned down some of my evil favourites... sausage's, bread rolls, feeling really positive!

In order to allow me to cycle to work I need to ensure I dont do to much running so that it makes my legs sore again, so easy build up is in order.

I have also had a few email conversations with some friends who have done a few Triathlons and they have pointed me to a place that sells ex-rental wet suits, as these can be costly but are a requisite for most outdoor swims, so will need to get one as well as aTriathlon suit....... who would have thought I would A) ever think about bying an all in one lycra suit and B) actually be quite excited about it :o)

30 mile work commutes for the rest of the week with my first swim session happening on Wednesday!

Saturday, 7 January 2012

First official weighin

Weight = 16 st 11.2 lb
BF = 30.5%
Waist = 45 inches (although my trousers are 38-40 so cant figure that one out)
Chest = 47 inches

My first run

I donned running kit last night and went out to see what my abilities are when it comes to running, it has been 4 years since I last ran, so the goal was to attempt to jog for 30 minutes around the track.

http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/85136302

It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it definately wasn't easy, I managed to jog 5k in thirty minutes. My legs were tired for the rest of the night so did lots of stretching and used some recovery cream I used to use when cycling did this to me. Even with all of this I woke up this morning and ouch!!!! Legs are feeling tight and sore, will have to make sure I keep stretching today as would like to go out again this weekend.

So it starts

I have decided to keep a diary of my attempt to get fit in 2012, I already cycle a lot averaging 30 miles a day commuting to work, as well as the odd 100 mile sportive in the summer months, but this year I want to run, cycle and swim.... Yes you may have guessed, I want to do a triathlon!

I will be posting my weight and size stats as well so that I can monitor improvement